What’s So Great About EXAIR’s No-Drip External Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles?

Published on by Russ Bowman

It doesn’t take a lot to make a basic liquid spraying device. I spent about ten bucks at a local hardware store on a nice little plastic thingie to thread onto my garden hose & aim at my little backyard garden. I don’t necessarily need extremely small droplets, or precise control of the pattern size…if it over-sprays a little bit, that doesn’t hurt the grass adjacent to my tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers at all. It’s already starting to leak a little bit in the “turret” that spins to select the water pattern, but I’m probably going to use it until that leakage outpaces the amount being sprayed. That isn’t hurting my grass either. Some industrial spraying applications, frankly, don’t need anything that’s much more advanced, and such devices are readily commercially available from a number of suppliers. If that’s your situation, you can stop reading now.

If you’re still reading, I’m going to answer the question in the title of this blog in a concise, technical manner. But first, here’s an apt analogy, in two short videos, that contrasts the difference in products like my garden sprayer, and EXAIR’s engineered Atomizing Spray Nozzles. The first video represents a garden sprayer, the second represents an EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzle:

This is also a pretty good representation of my dancing abilities when “(You Make Me Wanna) Shout” from the “Animal House” soundtrack is played. All of my relatives know this, and still invite me. That’s the hallmark of a good family.
I would, of course, yield the floor to this young lady, or any of the world’s finest gymnasts that competed in Tokyo at the Olympics. I can’t speak for my cousins…from Boston or anywhere else, for that matter.

The other analogy I’d like to draw, using the second video, is that our Model EF6010SS 1/2 NPT No-Drip External Mix Flat Fan Pattern Atomizing Spray Nozzle is an award winner:

Plant Engineering’s Product Of The Year Gold Award for Fluid Handling goes to…EXAIR!

And for good reason, too. Consider:

  • Like any of our compressed air operated Atomizing Spray Nozzles, they make a fine, controllable fan of liquid spray with a consistent droplet size under 100 microns.
  • Liquid flow rate is adjustable from 141 gallons an hour on the low side, up to a maximum of 303 gallons per hour…a little over twice what my kitchen sink puts out, and about half what my garden hose can flow. That’s a decent amount of liquid flow in a 25″ wide flat fan pattern. It’s great for putting a heavy coating over a narrow band, like a paint line.
  • External Mix operation means the liquid flow rate is solely dependent on liquid supply pressure, and the width of the Flat Fan pattern is solely dependent on compressed air supply pressure. You can adjust the liquid supply pressure for a different overall flow rate without appreciably affecting the pattern size. Or, you can regulate the air supply pressure to change the pattern size without changing the volumetric flow rate of the liquid. It’s also the best choice for liquids with viscosities over 300cP.
  • The No-Drip feature stops flow, instantly, when the air is turned off. They need 30psig compressed air pressure to start liquid spraying. When air supply is secured, an o-ring seals the nozzle’s stem in the Liquid Cap to positively stop liquid flow, up to 180 cycles a minute. This important feature is critical for expensive, solvents, chemicals or paints. It is even important when considering water consumption.
  • They’re made of grade 303 Stainless Steel, for durability and corrosion resistance.
External Mix models are made for applications that require higher flow rates with precise liquid flow control.

Model EF6010SS is one of SIXTEEN EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzles that have been Finalists in Plant Engineering’s Product of the Year competition since 2011. It’s the fourth Award winner in that time, and second one to get the Gold Award. So, we’re pretty proud of that.

If you’re looking to spray liquid, look no further than EXAIR. We have 142 distinct Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles…and 22 Liquid Atomizing Spray Nozzles (FullStream and HollowStream Cone) to choose from. Call me and we’ll talk about which one is right for your application.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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